Tinkle sounding toy



April 16, 1957 L. SAMETZ 2,788,612

TINKLE SOUNDING TOY Filed Sept. 7; 1954 ATTORNEY TlNKLE SOUNDING TOY Louis Sametz, Westport, Conn.

Application September 7, 1954, Serial No. 454,491

Claims. (Cl. 46-191) This invention relates to tinkler bell sounding toys particularly of the kind in which a bell striking ball is held captive with sufiicient freedom within its confines to tumble about and rebound against a bell barrel in a manner to cause a tinkling sound. The bell barrel of such sounding devices may be rotated by any suitable means such as by a wind operated pin wheel, or by wheel work deriving rotary motion from the wheel tire of a bicycle on which the toy is mounted.

The present improvements particularly concern a way and means for retaining a captive ball at a fixed station so that it is free for tumbling impact with the revolving bell barrel, yet prevented from following the barrel round and round thereby to insure continuous emission of the tinkling sound even at high rotary speeds of the bell barrel.

An object of the invention is to cause a toy of this nature to emit a tinkling sound of maximum loudness in relation to a desirable smallness of size and cheapness of construction necessary in low priced throw-away toy articles having only a temporary use and short life.

A contributory object is to produce a more efilcient rebounding performance of a captive ball in its necessary small size so as to effect a maximum force and brevity of impact between the ball and a bell barrel of proportionally small size.

Another object is to prevent tendency of the ball to cling to the rotating bell barrel as caused by centrifugal force thereby to avoid impairment of the sound by such clinging tendency.

A further object is to construct a pin Wheel toy partly of metal parts including the bell barrel, and partly of plastic or non-metallic parts including the wind wheel, for lightness of weight and low cost of manufacture.

These and related objects of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the improvement in which description reference is had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a pin wheel and its pivotal means of support equipped with a bell and tinkler ball embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view taken on a central vertical plane through the pin wheel and its means of support.

Fig. 3 is a View taken in section on the plane 3-3 in Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

An embodiment of the invention herein chosen to illustrate principles underlying the improvement comprises a supporting standard 12 which in the form shown is adapted at 14 to clamp to the handle bar of a bicycle so that the propeller blades 18 of a freely rotatable wind wheel 16 will face forward and ride into the wind thereby to cause rapid rotation of the wheel.

Blades 18 are segmental fins pitched forward at an incline from the plane of rotation of a thin discal sheet of plastic material to form a wind wheel. In the outer circular margin of the wheel the annular stiffening head 20 is formed in the discal sheet. Centrally of the wheel itecl States PatenrO 2,788,612 P'istented Apr. 16, 1951 the discal sheet is cupped rearward at 22 to form a mounting hub for the wind wheel. Wind wheel 16 is further stifiened and is provided with a good axial length of bearing by means of the hub cap 24 which may be a hollow cup of thin dished sheet metal fastened to the plastic sheet of the wind wheel by rearward extending bent-over tabs 26 which penetrate and clamp against the plastic sheet.

Against the rearmost end of hub 22 of the wind wheel there is attached in fixed relation to the latter what may be termed a bell cup 28 since it comprises a hollow cup of drawn sheet metal having sufiicient temper or hardness, at least in its rim portion or bell barrel 30, to ring with musical sound when struck. Wheel hub 22 and the cross wall 31 of cup 28 are firmly fixed. togetherb'y an eyelet 33. Cross wall 31 is dished at 29 to conformto the dished hub 22 of the wind wheel.

Bell barrel 30 is crimped to form one or more flutes or radially projecting, axially extending protuberances 32 that will make impact with a captive tumbling ball 34 as the bell barrel rotates. If such ball were permitted to revolve in unison with the bell barrel it would be flung forcibly outward and carried round and round in an orbit by high speeds of rotation of the bell cup because the action of centrifugal force would force the ball radially outward against the bell barrel and cause it to cling thereto and travel in unison therewith. This would defeat relative movement between the ball and the bell barrel so that tinkling noise would cease to be produced at desirably high speeds of rotation of the wind wheel.

It has been proposed heretofore to hold captive a bell striking ball in the path of rotation of a projection on a rotary bell barrel, but the manner of restricting the movement of the ball has been such as to impede its freedom to rebound with suificient force to produce a desirable loudness and tonal quality of sound.

I have discovered that by giving the ball sufiicient freedom to tumble and rebound, the desired quality of tinkling sound can be obtained with dependable continuity and with satisfactory loudness regardless of the use of a very small size of ball and bell barrel and at practically all normal rotary speeds of the latter. This is accomplished by equipping the support standard 12 on which the wind wheel and bell cup are mounted pivotally with a confining ball cage. Such cage can be constructed in many ways. In the particular form herein shown a central pivot pin 36 having the wheel retaining head 40 is rigidly set into the top offset end portion 38 of standard 12. Standard 12 comprises a rigid strip of metal and is bent forward to offset its top end portion 38. This affords a horizontal wall 42 or top baffle of the ball caging structure whose rear wall or bafiie is formed by the main upstanding stem of the standard and whose said walls or baffles 44, 44 are formed by bent-forward wings 44 of a U-shaped cross strip 46 that is fixedly secured to standard 12 by rivet 48.

The aforementioned walls or baffles together with the cross wall 31 of bell cup 28, forming a. front bafiie, constitute a ball caging structure that sufliciently encloses a ball confining space to allow room for the ball to bounce about within such space and impact and rebound away from the bell barrel 30.

The operation of this toy will have become evident from the foregoing description of the construction and functioning of its assembled parts and the appended claims are directed to and intended to cover all obvious substitutes and equivalents for the particular shapes and arrangements of the parts herein disclosed as are fairly in cluded within the broadest interpretation of the wording of the claims.

located Ito be irnpa'cted by said'protuberance as the latter revolves :with said barrel, and ball caging stru cture at least partially enclosing a: space' larger 'than said ball of less circumferential extent: than said barrel located adjacent the path of'revolution of said protuberance and including ballle walls-disposed to prevent departure of said ball from said space While permitting said ball when impacted by said protuberance to rebound freely in said space to and away'frorn contact with said barrel, thereby to cause the: latter continually to emit a tinkling sound at high rotary-'- speeds.

jl2.- Atinkle sounding toy as'd'efined in claim 1, in which Tithe said 'bell =barrel'compris'es' the rim of-a'bell cup having atcross'wiall' forminga movable one of the said battle walls of the saidb'all' cagingstructure, said barrel being pivotally mounted on the said support bymeans of said cross 20 wall.

3. A tinkle sounding toy as defined in claim 1, in which at least two of said .bafiie walls are mounted on the said support.

4. A tinkle sounding toy as defined in claim 1, in which the said support comprises a strip of metal bent at an angle to form walls comprising two of the said bafile Walls of the said ball caging structure.

5. A tinkle sounding toy as defined in claim 4, together with a U-shaped bracket secured crosswise of the said strip of metal whose side'arrns form two of the said baflle walls or the said ball caging structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED "STATES PATENTS 214,895 Du Four Apr. 29, 1879 1,193,805 Long Aug. 8, 1916 2,624,153 Johnson et a1 Jan. 6, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 339,309 Great Britain Dec, 5, 1930 

